This is the process of helping an individual to help,himself and to develop his potentialities to the fullest by utilizing the maximum opportunities provided by the environment.

It is an assistance given to an individual to help him, to adjust to himself, to others and to his peculiar/unusual environment.

• a) Guidance helps him to understand himself.
• b) It helps him in his acquaintance with the things and the world around him.
• c) It helps a person to seek harmony between his personal needs and ambitions with peculiarities of his own environment.

In relation to education,

Guidance involves the difficult art of helping boys .and girls to plan their own future wisely in the full light ofthe factors that can be mastered about themselves and about the world in which they live and work.

• Definition of Guidance: It is a comprehensive process of helping an individual understand himself/herself and his/her world. It is a "macro" concept that includes directing, managing, steering, and leading a person toward a specific path or occupation.
• Definition of Counselling: It is a specialized, "micro" part of guidance. It is an interpersonal process designed to help an individual analyze their own capabilities and emotional problems to gain insight and effect positive behavioral change.

Guidance is universal and the basic principles of the philosophy of guidance are common to all countries with a slight modification to suit the locally accepted beliefs and the specific guidance services offered. The eight principles ofthe philosophy of guidance are;

• The dignity ofthe individual is supreme.
• Each individual is unique. He or she is diff~rent from every other individual.

• The primary concern of guidance is the individual in his own social setting. The main aim being to help him to become a wholesome person and to gain fullest satisfaction in his life.
• The attitude and person perception of the individual are the bases on which he acts.
• The individual generally acts to enhance his perceived self.
• The individual has the innate ability to learn and can be helped to make choices that will lead to self direction, and make him consistent with the social environment.
• Each individual may, at times, need the information and personalized assistance best given by competent professional personnel.

The basic aim is to help an individual increase his understanding and acceptance of self; his physical development, his intelligence, interest, personality traits, attitudes and values, education capacity and others.

This helps an individual to find out the importance of values, explore different sets of values, determine personal values and examine them in relation to the norms of the society and their importance in planning success in life.

Guidance also aims an individual to set goals for himself and relate these to the values determined by him so that he recognizes the importance of long range planning.

The aim here is to help an individual to explore the world of work in relation to his self exploration, his value system and goals that he has set for him self to achieve success in life.

The individual is helped to learn about factors which contribute to increase effectiveness and efficiency and to imp~ove his study habits.

The aim is to help the individual to be aware of his relationship with others and to note that it is a reflection of his feelings about himself.

The individual is helped to develop skills in social and personal forecasting, acquire attitudes and skills necessary for mastering the future. ,

This is a service offered to the individual, who is undergoing a problem and needs professional help to over come it.

It can also be seen as a helping relationship between a counsellor and a client which is aimed at helping a client to overcome his/her challenge/problem. The counsellor can initiate, facilitate and maintain the interactive process if he communicates feelings of spontaneity and warmth, tolerance, respect and sincerity.

Counseling therefore is a more specialized service requiring training III personality development and handling exceptional groups of people.

Counseling as a service is only provided to those individuals who are under serious problem and need professional help to overcome it, while guidance is needed by all at all time.

NB: Both guidance and counseling assist the individual to know about himself, to adjust to himself, to others and the environment and thus lead the individual to become a wholesome person.

During counseling, there should be a focus or purpose that governs the interaction of the counsellor and the client. Without a goal it's not possible to evaluate the counseling process. The following are the general goals that may be aimed at during the sessions.

Counseling generally aims at dealing and doing away with stress, anxiety, depression or other habitual outcomes of the problem. Whatever situation a client brings to the counseling session, the counsellor has to try and enable the client cope better with the particular situation than before. Sometimes, the situation is unchangeable and the goal is to help the client accept and cope with the situation.

Many of the psychological problems that clients bring to the counseling session are a result of dysfunctional behavior. In situations where the problem is not a result ofthe above mentioned, it may elicit dysfunctional responses from the client. In both cases, the client needs to be helped to identify and recognize the dysfunctional behavior or response and also to move ahead and adopt more functional behavior or responses.

Some of the problems that clients bring to the counseling session may have their origin from those who relate to the client. At the same time when the client is not coping well with a particular crisis in their life, the people around the client may suffer too.

• d. To encourage individuals think about the problems and come to a greater understanding of it and how best it can be solved.
• e. To provide individuals with an option that can help in solving the problems.
• f. To assist individuals take decisions about actions required to solve problems.

• Trained Professionals: Individuals who have undergone specific training in psychological theories and ethics.
• Skilled Communicators: Someone with high emotional intelligence, active listening skills, and a non-judgmental attitude.
• Knowledgeable Experts: In medical settings, the counsellor must be knowledgeable about specific conditions (e.g., Cancer, HIV, Obstetric complications).
• Willing Participants: Someone who has the genuine interest and sufficient time to invest in the client’s progress.
• Presentable and Empathetic: A person whose demeanor builds trust and rapport with the vulnerable client.

• Social and Psychological Support: Essential for those with end-of-life diagnoses, providing a safety net of emotional care.
• Grief and Bereavement Management: Helps individuals process the loss of loved ones and move through the stages of grief healthily.
• Prevention through Education: In cases like HIV/AIDS where no vaccine exists, counselling serves as the primary tool for prevention via health education.
• Reproductive Health Support: Vital for women facing abortions, post-abortal care, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths to prevent depression.
• Surgical Preparation: Helps patients undergoing major surgeries (e.g., hysterectomy or mastectomy) deal with the change in body image and fear.
• Conflict Resolution: Equips people with the tools to communicate better, reducing domestic violence and workplace tension.
• Reduced Confusion: Provides a "safe space" to vent and clarify thoughts, leading to a clearer mind and better physical health.

There are fundamental qualities that make a good counsellor. The following are some ofthe important qualities a counsellor should have.

This refers to the willingness and ability to be sincerely concerned, interested and to show care by working for others well being. It's a positive attitude towards betterment and the willingness to sacrifice one's time, energy and emotional support to see another better offthan before.

This is the ability to be present for others when they need you. Availability does not only refer to physical presence but also involves emotional presence.

This refers to the availability to do a self evaluation to accept what you can do and what you can't do. This enables you to discover the kinds of clients you can handle and what problems you can't handle.

This refers to the willingness to be open to hurt or pain. The decisions that a counsellor makes together with a client involves risk and sometimes options taken may backfire. In such a case, the client may become a counsellor.

This is the willingness to be a role model in both your private and public behavior. This is very important because clients have certain expectations about the counsellor. The counsellor usually shares important information and life expectations.

The counsellor has to be a person who is able to keep secrets or who does not find it hard to keep back information concerning the client's problems.

This refers to a good common sense, power of judgment and prediction. The counsellor has to be quick to assess what has to be done in a particular situation. He or she has to be able to imagine and predict what is likely to happen when a session takes a particular direction. When a counsellor is working with more than one person, the counsellor has to be intelligent enough to steer the session while minimizing the conflicts that may come up between the parties in the session.

This is the ability to listen and show interest and also sensitivity towards the clients' communication. Communication is also the ability to respond to what the client has said accurately. Although the primary work ofthe counsellor is to listen, it does not mean that a counsellor remains silent throughout the session.

Sometimes patients move in circles and the counsellor has to be patient not to give up on such a client. The counsellor has to be competent in enabling the client explore his world of experience, his feelings and behavior.

The counsellor has to be action oriented and this requires developing a complete plan of action in relationship to the client. The plan has to be reviewed from time to time and assessment has to be made as to how the client has gone on terms ofsolving or implementing the plan of action.

The counsellor should be able to work on a single individual or group. The counsellor should be a person who is capable of working with individual persons or groups of people. In addition the counsellor should not be a person who becomes tense ofmeeting a client/meeting a group of people.

These refer to what a counsellor is supposed to do in attending to the client during a session. It's important for the counsellor to know the state in which the client has come into the counseling relationship. This can be easily answered when the counsellor simply asks what the client would like the counsellor to do for him/her. What the client expects from the counselor.

This gives the counsellor the opportunity to clarify on some ofthe misconceptions that a client may have about what the counsellor is supposed to do for him/her. E.g. some clients come discouraged, thinking that it's not proper for them to receive help for their problems.

For all these elements to be gratified in the counseling session, the counsellor is expected to have attending skills as summarized:

• S----Squarely facing the client (position that indicates' that you're available and attentive to what the client is saying).
• O----Open Posture (Having your hands open out and not closed up/rapped across the chest. Being open communicates to the client that you're available and ready to receive the client and the client's communication).
• L---Leaning forward (A posture that communicates involvement and interest).
• E---Eye contact (An act that encourages the client to open up).
• R---Being relaxed and settling down.